02-22-1972 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REDRAWING OF WARD The City Attorney stated that BOUNDARIES there is some doubt as to the impact on the City of Santa Aha by recent State legislation requiring realignment of ward boundaries by population; that Santa Aha does not elect by district; that a Council candidate is required to run from a ward and to meet certain residential requirements, but is elected at large; that in accordance with the "one man, one vote concept" each citizen's vote should be approximately equal to the weight of all others; that bearing that test in mind, it would make very little difference in Santa Aha in the weight of the vote if the City had disproportionate ward boundaries; and that, in his opinion, Santa Aha can continue to divide its wards by registered voters as opposed to general population. Councilman Villa asked if it is possible to draw the ward boundaries one year before the next election so that no one is moved out of a ward and unable to run for office because of residency requirements. The City Attorney stated th~ere should be no problem in drawing the lines a year in advance; that there is a reasonable relationship between residency in an area and qualification to run for office and the City may impose this condition if it wishes; that if the boundaries are changed, a party who finds himself in a new district may add on the period of time in the former district to the new district so that he can qualify for office in the new district, but he may not add time in the new district to the old district; that he would have to run for office from the new district. The Assistant to the City Manager pointed out that after the general election in November 197Z, the Registrar's Office will purge the voting ~rolls of all who did not vote in that election; that also, 18-year-olds will be registering between now and December, and all of this will have a relationship to the number of registered voters in each ward. In response to a question from Councilman Patterson, the City Manager stated that the population of S~nta Aha changes a great deal in a year or a ten-year period; that the Federal ~licennial census may be used, but in a city euch as Santa Ama, a more current measurement procedure would be better; that the only other way is a special census every two years, which becomes very expensive; that the State gives an over-all figure for the entire City but does not give the accu~a~cy necessary for a small unit such as a precinct. The City Attorney stated that the Pederal dicennial census is not useful to Santa Ana, since the Charter requires realignment of ward boundaries every two years. Councilman Villa moved to instruct the staff to realign the ward boundaries before April1 11 on the basis of number of registered voters. The motion was seconded by Councilman Patterson and carried on a 5 - I vote, Councilman Markel voting NO. In response to Councilman Patterson's question concerning the residency clause, the City Attorney stated he would check out the authority and present it at the next regular Council meeting. CITY COUNCIL -8Z- February 22, 1972